Everland (30 page)

T
he dimly lit walls close in on me and the air feels thin. I gasp as a swell of energy surges through me. I race into the infirmary. Bella and Lily are gathered together, excitedly exchanging conversation, sometimes talking over each other.

Gripping Lily’s elbow, I pull her to attention. “I don’t feel right about this. We can’t let them go alone,” I say, breathing rapidly. “What if they get caught?”

“You can’t worry about him,” she says in a stern voice.

“Him?” I ask.

Lily folds her arms. “You’re concerned about Pete.”

My breath catches, caught between denial and truth. I drop my gaze. She’s right, but it’s more than just that. I’ll never know if he makes it out alive.

As if reading my mind, she places a soft hand on my arm. “They’ll be okay. Those boys are the bravest I have met. Smart, too.”

The simple gesture and the confident tone in her voice curbs the edge of my anxiety. Taking a final glance up at the steel door, I nod. “You’re right. We stick to the plan.”

Lily takes my hand into hers, intertwining her gloved fingers with mine. She gives my hand a reassuring squeeze. “Come on. Let’s rescue your family.”

“So how are we getting into the palace courtyard?” I ask.

“You’re probably not going to like this plan.” Bella smiles, her complexion glowing with a new healthy radiance she did not have earlier. She links her arm in mine. “It’s time for the Lost Girl to learn how to fly.”

Lily looks at me with unblinking, wide eyes. “Are you sure about this? If Hook captures you, we can’t come back to rescue you. There are too many children’s lives at risk to stall our departure.”

“Don’t worry about that. I’m going to give him
exactly
what he wants,” I say, articulating each word.

Bella shakes her head. “I hope you know what you’re doing.”

Soon enough, we are trudging through murky water in a dark tunnel. The smell of damp dirt fills the narrow passage as I duck beneath a low ceiling. The intertwined tree roots give the illusion of lace. Lily takes the lead while I follow, Bella close behind me. Water seeps into my leather boots. Unlike the carefully engineered royal tunnels, the muddy channel feels more like an underground animal burrow than a passageway. I lumber on, trying to keep myself upright while my shoes sink into the muck.

Lily, on the other hand, travels with ease, her long, dark hair swinging behind her. She marches forward, each step sure and steady. Her slender hands grip the skirt of her sari, holding it above the waterline. The metal chain around her waist tinkles in the cavern like the ringing of miniature bells.

Thunder rumbles ahead. A rusty old ladder leaning against a rocky alcove appears from the shadowed darkness; a small hole above it opens to a stormy sky. The flash of lightning illuminates the passage for a moment before plunging us into the dim light of Lily’s lantern.

“This leads into the gardens behind the palace. Follow the tree line toward the building,” Lily shouts over the crash of thunder. “It will take you to the northwest corner.”

“What about you?” I ask, my eyes fixed on hers.

Frowning, Lily nods. “I’ll be taking a nearby passageway just to the west. It ends several meters from the
Jolly Roger
. I’ll sneak aboard and prepare it for departure. When Pete, the Lost Boys, Bella, and your family arrive, we’ll leave for Northumberland.”

Pete, Lost Boys, Bella, and my family
. No mention of me. She knows my plan, my secret. I’m sure of it. My chest wells with gratitude as she smiles weakly at me, acknowledging the unspoken words between us.

I nod. “So how are we getting inside to the courtyard?”

Another bolt streaks the sky, lighting Bella’s face. “That’s where I come in. We’re scaling the walls.”

My eyes dart toward Lily. “Scaling the walls? Of the palace?” I ask in disbelief.

“It’s the only way in without drawing the attention of the guards,” Lily says. “There are soldiers guarding every entrance.”

I peer up at the darkness beyond the opening. Lightning rakes across the midnight sky.

“The only trouble will be traveling in the darkness,” Lily says. “They’ll spot you right away with a lamp. With the cloud cover it’ll be hard to scale the wall without the moonlight.”

The corners of Bella’s mouth turn up and her blue eyes sparkle in the lamplight. “And that’s why you need me here. How do you think I travel by the rooftops at night? Lily, can you dim the lantern?”

Lily turns the brass knob, and the hiss of gas quiets until only a small flame remains. Bella’s face is shadowed in the dark, but even in the minimal light, I can see her chin tilted up toward the opening in the ceiling. Another roll of thunder rumbles the earth.

“Watch this,” Bella says. She pulls something from her pocket and blows a breath across the palm of her hand. Lightning brightens the cavern again. This time the air is filled with a metallic glitter, sparkling like the brilliant gold rays of a sunrise on a clear morning. The fine powder shimmers and floats to the ground.

“Gold dust,” Lily says, surprised.

“Pixie dust,” I correct.

Lily turns the lanterns back up and the floor sparkles in the dust’s luminescence.

Bella’s expression is bright with excitement. “That storm is close enough that we’ll have plenty of lightning to reflect off of the dust. I’ll go first and leave a trail for Gwen to follow.”

Lily whistles. “That’s bloody brilliant!”

Bella grins and starts up the ladder. “Come on, Gwen. It’s time for your first lesson.”

“Lesson?” I ask.

She winks, her long lashes fluttering like the wings of a butterfly. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was going to teach you how to fly.”

“But you don’t have your wings,” I say.

Bella shrugs. “I don’t need wings for this adventure.”

Hesitantly, I follow her. I prop my elbows on the muddy ground and pull myself out of the narrow opening. We find ourselves near a small grove of trees. Two soldiers guard the garden entrance into the palace. Across the vast overgrown lawn in the far distance, torchlight surrounds a large silver zeppelin that hovers above a wooden ship fitted with propellers. A long ramp leads to the door, and dozens of soldiers are carrying crates and boxes into the vehicle. Other smaller zeppelins surround it.

“That must be the
Jolly Roger
,” Bella says, pointing to the largest ship, which is adorned with a skull-and-crossbones figurehead.

The faint smell of smoke and burnt wood carries on a cool breeze. A crack of thunder bursts through the air, followed by another bolt of lightning, casting the smoke-and-cloud-filled sky in an orange haze. Bella must smell it, too. She turns, facing the palace.

Beyond the palace walls, the city is ablaze.

Everland is on fire.

Bella watches the burning city and her bottom lip turns up in a pout, but she says nothing. A heavy sense of sorrow hangs in the air, mixing with ash as the city burns. The last thread of hope inside of me that believed England would one day be restored snaps. There is nothing left of London. All that remains is Everland, a city of sorrow, destruction, and embers. Although my heart severs in two, I remind myself of Northumberland, a light in the midst of despair.

“Ready?” I ask.

Bella nods and leads the way. We follow the line of trees to the northwest corner of the palace, keeping within the shadows. The palace roof towers above us, nearly three stories high.

“Are you sure about this, Bella?” I ask. “It seems so high. You could fall.”

“We will both be fine. Trust me,” she says with a sly smile.

Another crack of thunder startles me. Bella looks up at me, the light in the sky making her bright eyes appear almost green in its glow. She touches my trembling hands. “We have to hurry before the rain comes. I’ll go first and you follow behind.”

She crouches down and darts from the trees, paying no attention to the soldiers in the distance. I follow her lead. Bella grabs onto a stone in the wall and climbs effortlessly. When she reaches the top ledge of the building, she grunts as she pulls herself up, but her expression shows no hint of discomfort. She is the healthiest she’s been since I’ve met her.

Bella peers over the ledge. She waves a hand at me, coaxing me to join her. Stepping out of the protective cover of the trees, I sprint toward the wall. When I reach it, I close my eyes and take in a breath. The air smells faintly of rain and electricity. Another burst of lightning brushes the sky, but all I see is the fiery red glow behind my eyelids. A light dusting of flecks falls on my cheeks, reminding me of family trips and playing with my sister and brother in the powder of fresh-falling snow, flakes catching on my lashes.

Slowly, I open my eyes and see specks of gold shimmer on my cheeks, barely within my vision. My jacket and boots glitter in an iridescent display. I blink, staring up the wall of the palace. Dust powders the broken and chipped bricks, revealing ledges large enough to stand or hold on to. Like a treasure map, a gold trail leads to the top of the building where Bella waves, beckoning me in whispered excitement.

“Come on, Gwen. You can do it!” she says.

At first, I hesitate, scanning the face of the wall. Bella’s bright blue eyes peer down at me. She radiates with confidence and something else.
Faith
. Faith in
me
.

Trust me
, she said. The same words Pete offered me at the start of my journey to Everland, to the palace, and to finding my family.

I follow the gold trail with my eyes.
Pixie dust
, I think. Feeling a smile grow on my face, I curl my fingers over the notches in the stone and climb.

T
ilting my face to the sky, I blink as a small drop of warm rain splashes my cheek.

“Are you sure you don’t want to postpone our departure, Captain?” Smeeth says, watching the soldiers heft boxes into the zeppelins.

Closing my weary eyes, I keep my face turned toward the stormy night. “A year, Smeeth. One whole year, I’ve been stuck here in Everland. And all for what? Because my mother wanted to rule the world and now …” I pause and sigh. “And now it’s my chance to be more …”

“More than what, Captain?” Smeeth asks.

I turn my gaze toward my ship, the
Jolly Roger
, the only gift from my mother, but so undeserved. She is right. She’s always been right. I owe her, but my debt is too large to pay. I will forever be indebted to her unless I finally rid myself of her. “To be more than just a bandit, destroying and stealing, like a thief … like a ruthless
pirate
,” I say, the word leaving a foul taste. “My mother’s pirate!”

But Smeeth is staring past me with a curious expression on his face.

I spin, searching for whatever has drawn his attention. A bolt of lightning races through the night sky. Across the tall, grassy field, beneath the haze of smoke, the shadow of a person clings to the base of the palace, her long hair flapping in the wind. On the roof above her, another figure leans over the ledge. The slight glint of gold flickers on the face of the wall as the sky pulses with electricity. Something in my gut stirs, and I know that the figure on the wall can only be Gwen.

“Smeeth,” I say, pulling my night-vision goggles over my eyes, “it appears we have ourselves a few more guests. Take as many men as you need to the rooftop to greet our new arrivals.”

“Yes, Captain,” Smeeth says before hurrying off.

I clench my fists. The cure is so close I can almost taste it.

Moments later, my soldiers and I head for the ballroom. Footfalls on the stone floor echo through the dark, dank room as I inspect each diminutive cage stuffed with Lost Boys. Small shadows whimper and sniffle behind the cold steel bars. Torches cast a dim light on a group of boys huddling together in the last cage. A guard opens the metal door, the hinges shrieking my arrival. The oldest of the boys lifts his chin, releasing a tearful child from his arms. He lunges toward me, but two large soldiers stop him.

“Let us go!” the boy named Dozer growls.

I ignore his words. A glint in his gaze sparkles when it falls on the smaller, crying boy. I grip the dirty teddy bear in my hand.

“Aw, now, now. There’s no reason to cry,” I say with sarcastic sympathy in my voice. I hold the bear with an outstretched hand. “Dry those tears, Mikey.”

“Stay away from him!” Dozer wriggles in the soldiers’ grasp until one guard slaps him across the face and flings him to the ground. Dozer howls as he lands on the floor. Holding his arm, his face etches with pain. “Bloody pirate,” he says, spitting through a cut on his lip.

“You Lost Boys try my patience,” I say, nodding to a soldier. “Bring the Professor’s boy.”

Picking Mikey up, the guards follow, slamming the door behind them.

“No!” Dozer says, racing to the door and gripping the steel bars. “Leave him alone!”

“Let me go!” Mikey whines.

The Lost Boys erupt, shouting for Mikey’s release.

I address the boys in the cages. “Don’t worry, Lost Boys. Once I have the girl, I will leave Everland and you can return to your happy hollow.” Turning toward the exit, I take a few steps before pausing. “Or at least what’s left of it.”